19 years in office and frontrunner still, Naveen looks for a high five

BHUBANESWAR: In office since 2000, and with 20 out of Odisha’s 21 Lok Sabha seats in his kitty, four-time chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik is confident of holding his stead one more time, in the face of an emergent BJP.
The state — where assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously — will vote in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.
To overcome perceived anti-incumbency, Naveen – who was BJP’s ally until 2009 and professes to maintain equidistance from both the saffron party and Congress since parting ways with the former — has focused on his image as a clean politician, his popularity with women voters, welfare schemes such as Kalia (cash assistance for farmers) while highlighting the alleged neglect of Odisha by the Centre.
Many say the 73-year-old bachelor’s image may be squeaky clean, much like the pristine white kurta-pyjama he favours, but that of his government is considerably less so. While Naveen has never been accused of graft in his four terms as chief minister, his government has drawn the opposition’s ire for chit fund and mining scams.
“Naveen’s incorruptible image will be his biggest asset as he seeks a fifth consecutive term. Political rivals have no leader to match his stature,” said Jayant Mohapatra, a retired professor of political science in Berhampur University.
Many also feel Naveen played his trump card hours before the poll dates were announced on Sunday. At a public meeting in Kendrapada, he said Odisha would reserve 33% of its LS seats for women candidates, thus fulfilling his promise to field women in at least seven of the 21 parliamentary seats in Odisha.
Though BJP spokesperson and fellow Odia, Sambit Patra, countered by asking why Naveen was not replicating this in the assembly polls, the unprecedented initiative is likely to endear the CM to his core vote bank of women. In 2012, he had increased the seats reserved for women in panchayati raj institutions to 50% from the 33% introduced by his father, the late Biju Patnaik, in the 90s. Women self-help groups, which get subsidised loans from the government, are key to Naveen’s continued run as CM.
Another strategy Patnaik has adopted is to replace several sitting MLAs and MPs to beat localised anti-incumbency. The regional party has 118 MLAs in the outgoing assembly of 147. “At least 15 MP candidates and 50 MLA candidates will be replaced,” a BJD insider said.
In the past month, Naveen has toured all 21 Lok Sabha segments multiple times and addressed several public meetings. A man of few words, he tends to keep his speeches short; even so, he has coined a catchphrase to draw claps and cheers – ‘aapana maane khusi ta? Mu bi khusi’ (Are you happy? I am also happy). The question has become the rage in villages and towns of the state.
Naveen also does his meetings with a twist: his ministers and senior party leaders sit among the audience and are not allowed to speak. Instead, little-known women, farmers and youths share the stage with the chief minister, take selfies with him and deliver speeches. “This has endeared Naveen to the people, they can identify with his simplicity. He listens to the people more than he speaks to them,” said senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya.
The strategy seems to be working. Laxmipriya Sha, a woman farmer from Balangir who shared the dais with Naveen at a public meeting in Bargarh district, said, “I don’t know of any farmer in my village who has shared the stage with the CM and been allowed to speak. It is an honour for the farmer community.”
BJP and Congress — faced with the Naveen juggernaut — are hoping the people are in the mood for change. “ E veryone is comparing 19 years of Naveen in Odisha with just five years of Modi at the Centre,” BJP state vice-president Sameer Mohanty said.
“People see new hope in Congress as we have promised complete farm loan waiver, better support price for paddy (Rs 2,600 per quintal up from the current Rs 1,750) and guaranteed monthly income,” said Odisha state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik.